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S 547 ‘Lindsay’ Bellarine Railway, Victoria |
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S 547 in dry storage at Lakers Siding, wearing a colourful
livery dating from its time at Mannerim – 10 October 2013.
The plumbing normally hidden under the
front skyline casing is revealed: steam dome, external steam pipe and anti-vacuum
valve.
While the loco looks rust-streaked, I imagine the
fundamentals probably remain sound.
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Builder |
WAGR Midland Workshops |
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Builder Year |
1947 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
4-8-2 |
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The S-class were the first locomotive type to be entirely designed
and built by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR), with the
design team led by Chief Mechanical Engineer Frederick Mills. Although conceived
in the late 1930’s, construction of these powerful 4-8-2 locos was delayed by
competing wartime priorities and material shortages, with the first three
units emerging from the WAGR Midland Workshops in 1943. The class ultimately
grew to 10 units, with 2 more completed in 1945 and another 5 in 1947. The
firebox and boiler design was optimised for the slow-burning local Collie
coal, resulting in a wide diameter boiler and large grate, contributing to
the purposeful look of these imposing machines. It is interesting to note that the competing construction
priorities at Midland Workshops included ten 4-8-2+2-8-4 ASG Garratts, which
were designed by the Commonwealth Land Transport Board under the leadership of
F. Mills. There is a resemblance between the S-class and the contemporary ASG
locomotives, including a skyline boiler cowling running from smokebox to cab –
a streamlining and fashion design feature which is hard to reconcile with
wartime austerity and cost constraints. Given their 4-8-2 ‘Mountain’ wheel arrangement, the
S-class appropriately received names of Western Australian mountains, carried
on brass nameplates attached to the running boards. The class were intended
for mixed traffic duties, although most of their careers was spent on freight
turns. The S-class locomotives suffered some teething troubles,
leading to early modifications to the steam inlet, regulator and superheater arrangements.
The original domeless boiler design, which incorporated an internal
perforated-pipe steam collector, was replaced by a stubby steam dome and
external steam pipe running to the smokebox via an anti-vacuum valve. One of
the more visible consequences of these modifications was the shortening of
the boiler-top cowling from full length to only half of the boiler length,
with these live steam components remaining hidden under the boiler-top
cowling at the smokebox end while other items – notably the safety valves –
were now revealed further along the boiler top towards the cab. Other early modifications include the replacement of
exhaust steam injectors with live steam injectors, and the addition of
flanges to the leading driving wheels. These modifications were also made to
the ASG Garratts, again suggesting the latter’s relationship to the S-class design. Five of the original low-sided tenders were rebuilt in the
1950’s to a high-sided design, which increased water capacity at the expense
of coal capacity. Adrian Gunzberg provides a full history of the S-class and
the various design modification in his authorative book ‘A History of WAGR
Steam Locomotives’. This book includes a fine colour photo of sister S 542 in
steam on the front cover! S 547 ‘Lindsay’ was officially withdrawn in June 1971,
together with all but S 549 ‘Greenmount’, and placed in storage. Photos from
that period show long lines of forlorn S, W and V-class locomotives awaiting
scrapping at Midland Workshops and Collie. It seems to have slumbered at
Midland through the 1970’s, keeping company with a selection of V and W-class
loco of which several were purchased for preservation by various groups. It
became one of the final steam locos acquired from the WAGR for preservation
when acquired by the Bellarine Railway in 1980 – I think at the same time as
V 1209 - and transferred to Queenscliff, Victoria. (A final clean-out of
remaining steam locos at Midland occurred around this time, with 2 V-class
and 2 W-class the unlucky last WAGR locos to be scrapped.) In WAGR
service, several of the original low-sided S-class tenders were rebuilt to a
high-sided design, which increased water capacity at the expense of coal
capacity. S 542 did not receive one of these rebuilt tenders during its
service career, but when purchased for preservation it was paired with a
large S-class tender which had been fitted to sister S 542. (Today S 542 is plinthed at East Perth terminal station
and is displayed with S 547's original low-side tender.) S 547
Lindsay was stored at Queenscliff depot during the 1980's, and later at Mannerim
(a somewhat remote siding along the Bellarine Railway) during the 1990's. The
loco has been stripped of boiler clothing and other parts to prevent
deterioration during storage. It is now housed undercover at the Bellarine
Railway's new restoration and storage facility at Lakers Siding, where it is awaiting
future restoration. While it looks rather derelict, it is believed to have
very good boiler and mechanical condition and therefore remains a candidate for
restoration to service one day. |
S 547 in storage at Mannerim siding during November 2004.
This photograph was kindly provided by Chris Schultz.
S 547's high-sided tender in storage at Mannerim siding
during November 2004.
The original green WAGR livery is just
evident under surface rust.
This photograph was also provided by Chris Schultz.
S 547 ‘Lindsay’ leads a V class on a lengthy goods train near
Beela. Photo dated 1969
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=3500
(Image reference P06892, original photographer – G. Wilson)
S 547 is flanked by the water tower and running shed at the
Bridgetown locomotive depot. Photo dated 22 February 1966.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=33451
(Image reference P24191, original photographer – F. Stamford)
S 547 ‘Lindsay on the scrap road at Collie loco depot.
Photo dated September 1972.
The builder’s plate and numberplate have been
removed from cabside and ‘547’ painted on the cabside, but the nameplate remains.
A W-class W93x is also in store behind S
547.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=30349
(Image reference T05339, original photographer – P. Ipkendanz)
S 548 ‘Gardner’ (low sided tender) leads S 542 ‘Bakewell’ (high
sided tender) on No. 104 goods through Darkan station.
Photo dated 5 September 1970.
This view provides a useful comparison of
the two tender styles – the original low-side version and rebuilt high side
version.
Image used with permission of the Rail
Heritage WA archive:
http://railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/displayimage.php?pid=28824
Image reference T06343, original photographer – N. Pusenjak)
References
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a |
A. Gunzburg
'A history of WAGR steam locomotives', published
by ARHS (Western Australian Division) 1984. |
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b |
Gray. W. K., 'Guide to Rail Transport Museum,
Bassendean, Western Australia', Australian Railway Historical Society W. A.
Division, First Edition November 1999. |
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c |
Rail Heritage WA website, Photo Archive, (via various images as represented on this
page) retrieved 9 July 2026 |
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d |
Information provided by Chris Schultz via email dated 21 March 2004. |
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e |
Information provided by D. Price via email dated 27 January 2011. |
Page updated: 13 July 2026
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